Wire and wire-fabric stretcher.



R. W. SIBLEY. WIRE AND WIRE FABRIC STRBTGHBR.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 3, 1908 Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

ROBERT W. SIBLEY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

WIRE ANI) VJIRE-FABRIC STRETCI-IER.

aaaoic.

Application filed December 3, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Bonnin? WV. SIBLEY, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire and 1Wire-Fabric Stretchers, of which the following is a specification.

rilhis invention relates to wire and wire fabric stretchers and has for its object the provision of a device of this character constructed in such manner that it is adapted to firmly grip a strand of wire for the purpose of stretching and holding the saine .when erecting wire fences, or to engage a wire fabric and stretch and hold the same while the fastening devices thereof are being placed in position.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which now follows:

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device constructed in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, and Fig. 3 is a front elevation with a part of the head broken away to more clearly illustrate the ecceiitrically mounted gripper roll.

Like characters designate corresponding parts in all of the gures of the drawing.

The device comprises a head 5 and a handle 6. rThis handle may be secured to the head in any desired manner and may be of any length. In the present instance, I have shown the handle secured to the head by an ordinary cotter pin 7, this cottei pin being omitted in Fig. 2 and only the hole therefor, being shown. The sides of the head 5 are recessed as at 8 and the walls 9 and 10 above and below said recess are curved as at 11 to engage a post or like member to which the wire is to be attached. The front end of the head is slotted at 13 for the reception of the wire to be stretched. head forms forwardly projecting shoulders 1a and 15. These shoulders carry hooks 16 and 17 which are adapted to engage a wire mesh fabric such as is used for fencing and to stretch and hold the same while the fastening devices for said fabric are driven into the post 12. rIhe shoulders 14 and 15 have transverse openings 18 and 19 formed therein and pivotally mounted gripper rolls 20 and 21 are mounted upon screws 22 and lie within these transverse openings. The peripheries of these rolls are preferably Speeicaton of Letters Patent.

This slotting of the l l Q in provided for accomplishing the objects of Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

Serial No. 465,835.

knurled to provide an efficient gripping surface. As best illustrated in Fig. 3, the roll 21 is concentrically mounted upon its pivot screw 22, while the roll 20 is eccentrically mounted upon its pivot screw 22. A small rod 23 projects outwardly from the gripper roll 2O and is engaged by a spring 24. T his spring is bent about the pivot screw 22 of the roll 20 and is provided with an end 25 which bears against the bottom of the recess 18 and by reason of the eccentric mounting of the roll 20, this spring tends to move said roll bodily toward the roll 21.

The operation of the device is as follows.' Vihen it is desired to stretch a wire strand, a strand such as is indicated at 26, is placed in the groove 13 and the rod 23 is pressed downwardly and by reason of the eccentric mounting of the roll 20, said roll is moved away from the roll 21 far enough to permit the wire strand to be inserted between the peripheries of the rolls 20 and 21. If, now, the handle 6 be moved in such direction as to throw the outer end of the head in the direction of the arrow a (Fig. 2), it is apparent that the wire will tend to move through the groove 13 in the direction of the arrow b (Fig. 3). This will, of course, tend to swing the eccentrically mounted roll upon its pivot and since this movement tends to move said roll toward the roll 21, it follows that the more the handle is drawn upon, the tighter the wire will be gripped by the gripping rolls. If it be desired to grip a wire mesh fabric, the hooks 16 and 17 are engaged within the meshes of said fabric, and by drawing the handle 6 in the same direction, the fabric will be stretched tightly across the face c of post 12.

It is apparent that the rod 23 provides means for disengaging the roll 2O from the wire when it is desired to release said wire.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple and efficient means are herethe invention, but while the elements shown and described are well adapted to serve the purpose for which they are intended, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction set forth but includes within its purview such changes as may be made within the scope of the appended claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

A wire stretcher comprising a handle and lll u head having n, Curved, post engaging face, the front end of Suid head being slotted for the reception of :i wire'strund and to thereby lorm a pair of forwardly projecting shoulders, there being openings formed in said Shoulders, a pair of rolls having roughened peripheries mounted in said openings, one of Suid rolls being eoneentrieully mounted and the other of said rolle being eeoentrioally mounted, a manually operable member earried by the eeeentreally mounted roll und which projects outwardly beyond the openn l r l l ing of the shoulder in which Said roll is mounted, and n Spring engaging Said member and normally tending to throw the eecentriozrlly mounted roll toward the concentrieally mounted roll.

In testimony uf'hereol I affix my Signature in presence of two WitnesSeS.

ROBERT W. SIBLEY.

lVitnesses J. W BRITToN, W. J. STEPHENSON. 

